Brand new baby

There is something magical about holding a brand new baby. The perfection of their dimensions, their chubby little legs and arms, that angelic semblance that you can stare at for hours as if it held the answer to life’s ultimate questions. Today I had the pleasure of holding a baby for an hour. It is the baby of a friend and while this friend and I are not extremely close, this child inspired in me a surge of protectiveness and I instinctively knew that I loved this child with all of my heart.

Don’t misunderstand, I have had three babies of my own and I know what it is like to have a child and NO, I don’t want anymore of my own, but there is still something about babies that touches me deep.

And then I thought back of all the babies that I have held. I remember holding Karina with her big alert eyes, looking at everything and never missing a thing. I remember holding my Chinito and I remember being proud of him, like a father is proud of a son. I remember the bond I felt with him. I remember Jaakko and how he would steal everyone’s heart, and I remember Tatita, those big brown eyes that spoke directly to your heart.

Then there was Felicia, pretty snow white baby and Shawn, strong and big, like his grandma called him “Chon”. More babies came and went and I wasn’t around but I remember when Chelsea was born, and Lauren and Victoria and the three stooges spent their days together at Apira’s house. Our family grows exponentially, the last time we all got together, for not so happy events, I found babies that were completely new to me. Christion’s son came into my arms, hugs and kisses given to Kalisha’s baby and Jay’s kids, something in me tingled and realized that yes, they are my own. Jeffrey, K’Andre, Damian, Mikey and the rest of the children ran around the house oblivious to the sad fact that death loomed near, simply rejoicing in the fact that we had come together.

Some of these kids were big, really big!!!! But regardless, there was something in their embrace, something in their approach, perhaps something in their blood that made me recognize them and love them at that moment, totally, unconditionally. It was like that joke everyone makes about family reunions, where you are introduced to your uncle Mike, uncle Mike traps you into a bear hug and you nod and say, “Oh yeah, Uncle Mike” as if you’ve known him all of our life. And sure, you have, you just didn’t know it yet.

So to all the new babies that I have not held, I look forward to the first embrace, to that moment of recognition where we may come together and come to know each other. To everyone else, perhaps those of you that grew up with me, or even those of you that held me when I was a baby, these children grow up without the benefit of knowing their extended family. Stories that have surrounded our family for years have broken down and become lost to the next generation. There is so much to share, so much to give.

We have wasted so much time.

Reach out, call that cousin you haven’t spoken to in years. They might be alone and hurting. Your sister that you are angry with, forget about your differences, they are not real. To that nephew that you think might be in trouble, hold his hand, this life is scary, perhaps he doesn’t know the way. Put aside your pride, your judgments, critical comments and egotistical notions, drop them all and embrace who you are, who you truly are. Our grandfather had 10 kids and their kids had a whole lot of kids and then they had kids. We may have all gone our own way, but when it comes down to it, we all came from the same place.